With an Indian father and an Italian mother (who owned a Bay Area clothing store for many years and had her daughter dressed in Gaultier at the age of 12), it was only a matter of time before designer Monica Patel-Cohn fell into the world of textiles. Her first job was at Barneys, where she assisted Simon Doonan with windows before she went on to work in advertising and PR in Milan for Miu Miu and Prada Sport. The Brooklyn-based designer eventually landed in Dumbo, where she launched Two, her own line of clothing, in 2010. Patel-Cohn had long been inspired by the incredible detailed handwoven saris from India but wanted to create a line that was modern and accessible. Her solution? Recraft the sari into an easily wearable piece. Below are images from an upcoming collection; the fabric is currently being woven in India; once it arrives, Patel-Cohn will start taking orders. For more information or to see more of her work, go to Two.
Above: Patel-Cohn buys traditional saris in India and refashions them into modern, wearable pieces. "For this design we used a black/orange ikat sari found in Bengal with a sheer stripe in the body."
Above: "This is a degradé ikat cotton in a light-to-medium cafe; I love the change of tones. I found this in Hyderabad."
Above: A t-shirt dress made from a medium thick indigo ikat. Patel-Cohn notes, "It makes for a simple, easy cotton dress you can just pull on and wear all day."
Above: A soft white khadi caftan with white on white embroidery.
Above: A Jamdani sari from Bengal with an adjustable drawstring neckline.
Above: Patel-Cohn explains, "This is a really amazing piece of work. It's a gauzy cotton from the Bangladesh/India border designed with our new neckline."
Above: Patel-Cohn in her DUMBO studio. Photograph by Jennifer Causey for The Makers Project.
For a slightly different take on fashion, check out Glow: A Chronicle of Fashionable Motherhood.